Furthermore, lets call a spade a spade, Fletcher was not playing at HOF status the last few years. He was an above average linebacker (looking specifically at his play). I'm not sure what Robinson is/isnt, but for me the worry isn't replacing Fletcher on the field. Its the locker room leader he is that is my bigger concern.

Really if you look at his stats he looks pretty good.

Ranking in tackles

2012 8th but no one close to his number of tackles had 5 ints
2011 1st
2010 7th
2009 2nd
2008 & 2007 6th

Also if you look at the other players in the top 10 in tackles their names come and go but Fletcher has been consistent over the years.

Glad he's coming back but I hope he's taken off the field on obvious passing downs.

IMO asking a tackling machine who also does a great job creating pressure to cover on the outside is a scheme issue. Evidence wise, we saw the scheme change a bit toward the 2nd half of the season, London covered less, and the defense improved.

I think Fletcher is getting a little disrespected. Fletcher is obviously a warrior in every sense of the word- that's a given and what everyone accepts. But what people seem to forget is - he's also a straight up baller. He's one of the few players that could go head to head with Brandon Jacobs and get the best of him. He's near top of the league every year in tackles. Even in coverage, he's made a bunch of picks at critical times. Is his physical attributes lessening? Yes. Does he have weaknesses in his game? Yes, but not many and probably only one obvious weakness - man coverage. In zone coverage - he's still a baller. And I don't know but one middle linebacker that plays man coverage exceptionally well - Urlacher.

But I think his production and contribution on the field is just as important as his leadership.

No doubt Fletcher is a baller. Is anyone really disputing that? I guess it's a sin to suggest that he's lost a step. He's still ballin' even with losing a step, but at 38 years old he's simply not the same guy he was 3-5 years ago.

No doubt Fletcher is a baller. Is anyone really disputing that? I guess it's a sin to suggest that he's lost a step. He's still ballin' even with losing a step, but at 38 years old he's simply not the same guy he was 3-5 years ago.

Yup, not disputing he's lost a step and declining but he makes the team much better by being on the field - noticeably raising the level of play.

Losing a step and strength, getting injured more easily,and feeling more pain for longer is all part of being older. But Fletcher should be on the field as much as possible. And even considering his weakness in coverage, he had the most interceptions on the team. Most of them at critical and turning points in games.

No doubt Fletcher is a baller. Is anyone really disputing that? I guess it's a sin to suggest that he's lost a step. He's still ballin' even with losing a step, but at 38 years old he's simply not the same guy he was 3-5 years ago.

I'll say this, London Fletcher at 37-38 is clearly better than Ray Lewis at 37-38.

Just look at coverage alone. Sure London wasn't great in coverage this year, especially against TE's, but he was clearly better than Ray was.

By cutting him the net savings is about $3.4M. Then they can work out a new deal. They can just give him a new 2-3 year deal that's structured so it looks nice on paper, when in reality it will probably just be a one year deal.

Doesn't the prototypical contract restructuring accomplish the same thing?

__________________ according to a source with knowledge of the situation.